Bringing EDI to the masses

Electronic data interchange has traditionally been relegated to the rich and famous (those companies with enough transaction volume to warrant the significant investment in application redesign and network fees). Initially, large corporations and government agencies had direct connections with their most significant trading partners. As these companies realized the benefits of EDI, they strongly encouraged their smaller suppliers to use EDI for transactions such as invoices. Smaller organizations would generally use a value-added network (VAN) provider to connect with larger trading partners. VANs provided valuable services, such as auditing and reliable connectivity, but EDI transactions were still much more expensive than public e-mail services.

The Internet provides an opportunity to dramatically expand EDI usage. EDI standards have focused on defining formats for electronic transactions (for example, a purchase order), but the lack of a stable network infrastructure and the cost of developing a private solution has caused EDI penetration to remain relatively low. But that was before most every company had an Internet mail address. Internet mail provides a ubiquitous vehicle to transport EDI content.

Vendors such as Premenos (recently acquired by Harbinger), Sterling Software and Netscape's Actra division have been developing products and services to support EDI over Internet-based e-mail. CommerceNet, the industry association for Internet commerce, has formed a workgroup and initiated vendor testing in support of Internet-based EDI.

To achieve widespread EDI usage over the Internet, vendors and service providers must address the security, reliability and auditability issues critical to the EDI community. Premenos, for example, with its Templar product is addressing security with its support of Secure MIME (S/MIME) and addressing reliability by resending EDI transactions not delivered in a specified time frame. The resending of messages is a particular challenge since the software must ensure that duplicate transactions aren't processed. (You don't want to make that $100,000 electronic payment twice!) Extranets consisting of groups of trading partners will also provide better security and reliability in the future.

While the technology is relatively new and problems still need to be ironed out, Internet-based EDI for the masses is on the right track.

Rapport Communication has recently merged with The Burton Group. The Burton Group is a leading information technology advisory and consulting firm. It provides in-depth analysis of emerging network computing technologies such as directory services, next generation messaging, secure messaging, NOS migration, public key infrastructure, and networking infrastructure. As part of its Network Strategy Service for network planners, The Burton Group offers the Catalyst Conference once a year in late July.

EDI Meets the Internet
An FAQ.

WebDox - Internet EDI software from Premenos

Feds breathe life into flagging EC effort
Network World, 2/16/98.

EDI will die because of the Internet, Polese predicts
Network World Fusion, 1/29/98.

CommerceNet Launches EDI, XML Trials
A look at proposed meshing of EDI and the HTML superset.

Electronic Data Interchange-Internet Integration
IETF working group.

General Electric Information Services EDI page